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RechargeIT.org, a Google company conducting research on electric cars and plug-in hybrids has made a startling revelation. According to RechargeIT.org, a plug-in hybrid cuts gas consumption by only about 88 gallons a year over a non plug-in hybrid such as a Prius in city driving. At $3 a gallon, the savings translate to about $250 a year. Considering that it costs $15,000 to convert a regular hybrid to a plug-in hybrid, the payoff will not be for more than 60 years. Even if gas prices go to $6, the payoff time is far longer than the average ownership of a car. These calculations are not even taking the cost of charging the car into account.

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Did you know that the world’s first hybrid was actually designed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1901? I was amazed when I read about this recently. Apparently, Ferdinand Porsche, the legendary name behind the Porsche automobile company had created an hybrid with in-wheel electric motors and an onboard gasoline engine that was used to recharge the batteries for the electric motors. In the 1900’s, gasoline was dirt cheap and so there was no economic value to having electric cars. Seeing that there would be no demand for this type of vehicle, Porsche scrapped the development of the hybrid. Boy, how times have changed! A mere 100 years later, gasoline prices continue to skyrocket and automobile manufacturers are vying to create alternative fuel cars. Could it be possible that we would be completely independent of oil had these companies continued their research over the past 100 years?

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Toyota Motors missed being the number one auto maker in the world in terms of sales by a mere 3,000 vehicles. The number one spot went again to General Motors which has held this spot since the 1930s. Though Toyota lost this time, it is fast gaining on the US Giant and it’s only a matter of time before it becomes the Numero Uno auto maker. Toyota is already the number one for hybrid cars, having sold over 1 million of them and plans to introduce all of its models in a hybrid version by the year 2020. Toyota Prius remains the most popular hybrid car in the world. Not long ago, Ford was the number two auto maker in the world - well, not anymore.

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